Peeping Tseng
by Mako Headrush
Summary: Elena's been blowing off happy hour with the Turks, and Tseng is determined to know what she's up to in her spare time.  Little does Elena know, her feelings for Tseng are not unrequited...will Tseng tell her how her really feels once he finds her?
1. Chapter 1

**This started out as a one-shot in my head...but as I started typing, it just kept going! So I'm not sure where this will end up, but if you read and review, I welcome any feedback or suggestions!**

**Rating: T for now, mild profanity.**

**Pairing: Elena/Tseng**

**Summary: Elena's been blowing off happy hour with the rest of the Turks, and Tseng is determined to know what she's up to in her spare time.**

**Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Elena, Tseng, and everyone else.**

**Please read and review, I hope you enjoy! xoxo**

It was just in the past month or so that Tseng had noticed something...different about Elena. Normally, after finishing a job, Elena and the rest of theTurks would regroup and hit a local bar. Preferably one that Reno or Rude had not yet gotten them thrown out of, given Reno's smart mouth, and Rude's penchant for smashing things…and people.

Lately, though, Elena had been skipping out on this usual practice, claiming she "needed to file a report immediately" back at ShinRa HQ, or some such thing. Since Tseng was first in command of the Turks, he knew that Elena's "excuse" was thin at best. He wondered if perhaps Elena was feeling awkward, since Reno's recent revelation that she "liked Tseng." Tseng, of course, eventually got wind of this, and it became common knowledge around ShinRa headquarters, no thanks to Reno's yapping.

Little did anyone know, that the feeling was mutual. Tseng had been nursing a crush on the tough talking blonde for quite some time, but he was hardly one to wear his heart on his sleeve. And, he wasn't about to confide in the likes of Reno or Rude, so he kept his feelings to himself.

Still, Tseng's curiosity as to Elena's whereabouts after work hours was gnawing at him, and the topic came up one evening over drinks at Turtle's Paradise. Naturally, it was the gossipy Reno who first brought up the subject.

"Say, boss," began Reno. "What the hell's going on with Elena, with all these reports? Don't overwork the poor broad, yo," he smirked, chugging out of a bottle of rum.

"You will not refer to Elena as a 'broad', Reno," replied Tseng, frowning. "Show a little respect."

"Yeah, Reno. Respect," grunted Rude.

Now that the topic was on the table, Tseng found his opening. "Yes, well, Reno…now that you've brought it up, I've been wondering the same thing."

Reno and Rude both looked a bit surprised at this. "Boss?" began Rude. "So, you're not assigning her an extra workload?"

"No, I am not," replied Tseng. "She claims that she 'wants to get ahead' on her reports, almost immediately after completion of a job. However," he continued, "both of you – well, you've been Turks long enough to know how this works. It's just as important for us to…unwind a bit, as it is to take care of the paperwork. I am starting to worry about her morale."

Reno looked thoughtful for a moment. "Huh. Well, maybe she's hung up on you boss, just as much as you're hung up on her, and she feels uncomfortable."

Tseng sputtered, choking on his sake, "What! What exactly are you inferring, Reno?"

Reno cackled. "Ha, boss. Nice one. I'm good at reading people, yo. I've been noticing the way you've been looking at her…how you get that look in your eye when you're dealing with her…"

"I am nothing but completely professional around Elena," interrupted Tseng. "And besides that, Reno, how did you-where do you get off spreading rumors about the leader of the Turks?" he inquired, arching an eyebrow.

Reno leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head and putting his feet up on the table. "Eh, it's just a simple observation, boss. I haven't said anything to anyone. Well, except for Rude, and he hardly counts."

"Hmpf," grunted Rude. "Another round, guys?" he offered.

"Nah, I'm cool, yo," replied Reno. "I think our boss here might want to do some recon work though, tracking down our missing Turk."

"Indeed?" remarked Tseng, twirling his glass of sake around and observing the ripples. "I should hardly think that's necessary, Reno. I don't believe Elena's up to anything devious, she's an exemplary employee." _Still_, mused Tseng, _it couldn't hurt to do a little follow up. _Hedecided to stop by headquarters to see if he could find Elena. If she was anywhere within the ShinRa building, Tseng would be sure to find her…he had his ways of finding people.

_What if she doesn't want to be found, though?_ Tseng pondered silently as he drained the last of his sake. _No matter_, he decided_, I must find out what she's up to. And perhaps…perhaps, I will tell her that her feelings are not unrequited._

Finishing his drink, Tseng turned to his companions. "Good night, men," he said. "I shall be calling it a night. See you both tomorrow, at oh-five-hundred hours.

"Five a.m.?" complained Reno. "Geez, man. Talk about a straw boss." Sighing, Reno got up to leave. "Rude, we're going," he stated. "And Tseng?"

"Yes, Reno?" replied Tseng.

"Tell Elena we said hi," Reno answered, smirking.

Tseng shot Reno a _look_, but said nothing. _Damn that Reno_, he thought. "Good night, Reno. Good night, Rude," Tseng stated flatly, and turned his barstool away from the two men.


	2. Chapter 2

Tseng reached ShinRa headquarters about half an hour after parting with Reno and Rude at the bar. He had mixed feelings for what he was about to do – he didn't want to make Elena feel as if her superior was spying on her – but wasn't that exactly what he was doing? Best to make myself as invisible as possible, thought Tseng. Fortunately, the Wutaian was highly skilled at blending into his surroundings, and his stealth was unmatched by any Turk, past or present. Except for one, mused Tseng.

Reaching his office, Tseng quickly and quietly closed the door behind him, locking it. It would not do to have anyone walking in on him, although he doubted that would happen at this late hour. Tseng sat down behind his desk, and inserted a keycard into a locked drawer on the right-hand side. Some of his more recent experiments with weapons and tracking devices resided here; nobody in the company knew about this secret stash of Tseng's – not even ShinRa's weapons development department. Tseng thought he'd keep some of this knowledge to himself. He didn't feel it was deceitful to ShinRa at large; rather, it just kept Tseng one step ahead of everyone else all the time. He wasn't the leader of the Turks for nothing, after all.

Opening the drawer, Tseng glanced in quickly, and immediately spotted what he was looking for – the most recent incarnation of a tracking device he'd been trying to perfect. Tseng held it in his hands, appraising it, and looking at it almost lovingly. Yes, he thought, this will show me exactly where there is any movement, on any floor in headquarters. He chuckled softly, thinking of how many times he'd used this device, unbeknownst to anyone, to track down Reno and Rude when they'd gone 'missing' for several hours at a time when they were supposed to be on the clock. After a few such instances of Tseng 'coincidentally' showing up when the pair were goofing off, Reno was convinced that Tseng had some sort of psychic or extrasensory abilities. Tseng wasn't about to shed any light on this situation, so he simply stayed silent, and let Reno continue to perpetuate that myth.

Turning the tracker on, Tseng listened to the low noise emitting from it – _tap, tap, tap_, sounding much like someone impatiently rapping their fingers on a desk. Tseng grabbed an earpiece and inserted it into his ear, and synced it with the device. Although the tracker was relatively quiet, Tseng was taking no chances – any audio would be transmitted directly into Tseng's ear.

Grabbing his master keycard, Tseng turned the lights off in his office, and departed. The tracking device was displaying little action. A few areas, where Tseng knew there to be security guards patrolling, he noticed a blue dot, representing movement on the tracker. It seemed pretty obvious to Tseng that these movements could be attributed to the guards doing their rounds, pacing back and forth.

However, something interesting seemed to be happening on the 64th floor. Elena? Wondered Tseng. He observed the blue dot on the tracker move forward quickly, and gyrate wildly for a few seconds. Then, for but a nanosecond, the dot actually _disappeared_ from the screen, only to reappear almost immediately. Upon reappearing, the blue dot would move quickly, for about 50 meters….then double back another 50 meters, retracing its path. After this, the whole sequence would repeat itself. Knitting his brows together, Tseng watched this display for several minutes, trying to figure out just what the person corresponding to that dot was doing. They were moving too fast to be walking, but too slow to be running.

This both intrigued and irritated Tseng. It annoyed him because he had been working on this tracking device for months, and thought he had reached a point where it was nearly perfected. He could not understand just what was going on with the device – was it malfunctioning, or picking up interference?

No, thought Tseng, impossible. _It has to be Elena on that floor…there is no other logical explanation._

**A/N: My idea of Tseng's tracking device was inspired by the ones used by the Colonial Marines in Aliens. I'm sure Tseng's tracking device looks a lot sleeker and sexier, though!**

**Wow...I didn't think I was going to write much more, but this one-shot is turning into something much larger! I've got a bit of a story arc mapped out, and I'm really excited about where I'm planning on taking this original idea. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry to take so long in between updates on this one! I've got the next few chapters mapped out, and there's going to be some dark, angsty stuff coming. :) Lemons will come...eventually! But I've got a bit of background to flesh out first. Next chapter will likely be a little citrusy though, so...stay tuned!**

**Please read and review, hope you enjoy! xoxoxxo**

* * *

On the 64th floor of the ShinRa building, a solitary figure flitted back and forth through the water, their sleek form lit only by the moonlight shining through a narrow-paned window. It was well after midnight, and nobody else was around; the silence was nearly palpable.

Tseng, riding up in the elevator, was furtively glancing at his tracking device, noting that there was still activity on the 64th floor. He was determined to find out whether or not this was the missing-in-action Elena.

The elevator finally stopped at the 64th floor with a soft _ding_. Tseng quietly cursed the sound, hoping it didn't alert the individual, whoever it was (_Elena?_), that he was following on the tracker. Tseng got out, quickly glanced around, and stealthily stuck to the walls, all the while monitoring the movement on the tracker_. It's coming from the natatorium_, he noted silently. Serpentine-like, Tseng clung to the walls, moving fluidly, and silently, as he headed toward the natatorium. Cocking his ear toward the door, he picked up the sound of lightly splashing water. Obviously, someone was in the pool.

Tseng thought for a moment; clearly whoever was up there, did not want to be disturbed. _Should I proceed further?_ _Or leave well enough alone_, he pondered. Tseng noted, upon entering, that the overhead lights were turned off; the only light coming in was from the side windows of the natatorium, as well as the underwater lights surrounding the perimeter of the pool.

Curiosity got the better of Tseng, and he ventured further inside_. I'll just see whether or not it's Elena_, _and then quietly leave._ Suddenly, Tseng heard a loud splash, and saw a figure jump off of the diving board, into the dimly lit waters below. Tseng took cover behind a large potted ficus just near the doorway. _How pedestrian_, thought Tseng wryly. _Hiding behind a potted plant._

Tseng's attention was redirected when he saw the figure – clearly a female - emerging from the pool, and climbing up the ladder. Water dripped off of her in silvery rivulets, glistening in the moonlight.

It was Elena. Definitely Elena. Stark naked, dripping wet, Elena. She paused to slick her hair back, at which point Tseng noticed her lack of clothing. _She is….beautiful_, Tseng thought, gaping. Forgetting where he was, and nearly forgetting _who_ he was, at that moment - Tseng gasped, thereby completely blowing his cover.

Elena froze where she stood, but only for a moment. She rapidly dropped to the ground and rolled herself over to the side, where her clothing lay in a neat pile, and quickly located her duty revolver. "Who's there!" she shouted. "I warn you, I am armed, identify yourself immediately, or I will shoot!"

Tseng knew damned well, since he himself had trained Elena, that she wasn't bluffing. Resignedly, he stepped from behind the ficus, and said, "Elena. Put down your weapon, it's me…Tseng." He met Elena's angry gaze, trying to focus on that, just focus on her eyes, and not her naked, dripping wet body…

"Tseng!" barked Elena. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, as she put down her weapon, and went to gather up her clothing. Tseng noted, with some admiration, that Elena didn't seem in any hurry to cover herself up; she was, oddly, not embarrassed by her boss seeing her completely naked. Rather…she seemed more annoyed and angry by Tseng's intrusion. _And rightly so_, thought Tseng guiltily. _I should not have done this…should not have come up here… _

"Elena. Let me explain," began Tseng. "Or try to. I've been concerned about you…you haven't been yourself lately…burying yourself in work, and I've been worried about your morale...as your supervisor, and…as your friend," he concluded.

"Hmpf," snorted Elena, as she pulled her shirt over her head. Tseng's eyes seemed to move of their own accord as they traveled down Elena's lean torso. His eyes stopped at Elena's lower abdomen, where he saw a gigantic mass of scars, marring the otherwise unblemished skin_. It looks as if…someone had tried to disembowel her_, thought Tseng. This puzzled Tseng. He thought he knew everything about the Turks under his command; indeed, he had background checks on all of them. _Extremely thorough background checks_, Tseng pondered. _And no record of an injury with this severity?_

Elena saw where Tseng's gaze at traveled to, and grimaced. "Stop staring!" she shrieked, hurriedly yanking on her jean shorts. "Isn't it bad enough that you're spying on me? I know you're my boss and all," Elena continued, "but seriously? What were you thinking?" Her blonde hair had fallen into her eyes, and she angrily brushed it aside.

"I just…well, obviously, I went about this poorly," admitted Tseng. "I apologize, Elena. It was never my intent to spy on you. I thought you might be back here at headquarters, and then I noticed some…activity on my tracker here, so I decided to investigate," he said, indicating the tracking device he held in his hand.

"Ooh, what is that?" Elena asked, suddenly interested, and moving in closer to take a look. "New from the Weapons Department? I haven't seen one of these before," she remarked, taking the tracker from Tseng as he offered it to her to look over.

"No," Tseng admitted, "not from the Weapons Department, actually…it's a prototype I've been working on. Nobody else knows about this, Elena – not even Reno or Rude."

Elena smiled. "Nice stuff, Tseng," she said admiringly. "You make this?"

"I did," Tseng grinned. "In fact, I've used it from time to time to catch Reno and Rude goofing off when they were supposed to be on the clock."

Elena eyed Tseng warily. "So, you're in the habit of following all of your employees?" she asked him haughtily. "Hmpf. And here I thought I was special," she said sarcastically.

Tseng sighed wearily. "It's not like that, Elena. Reno and Rude – well, I kind of knew they were up to no good in the first place. Utilizing the tracker merely confirmed my suspicions."

"So why, then?" demanded Elena. "Why did you track me, Tseng? Did you just want to get a peek at me without my clothes on?" she asked angrily, the fire returning to her brown eyes.

"No!" Tseng exclaimed. "No, Elena! I wasn't spying on you hoping to catch you in the nude, for gods' sake!" He was becoming uncharacteristically agitated. "I've noticed you've been unhappy lately, and I…care about your well-being," Tseng sighed. "Obviously, I should have just asked you, instead of resorting to this."

"Yeah, maybe you should have," Elena replied bitterly. "Or maybe you should have minded your own business. What I'm going through has not affected my performance as a Turk, has it?" she snapped.

"No," Tseng admitted quietly. "It hasn't. Elena, I merely—"

"Save it, Tseng," Elena retorted. "I'd like to forget about all of this. See you in the office tomorrow morning." She turned away from Tseng, heading toward the door to exit the natatorium.

"Elena—wait," called Tseng. "Please. I just have one question. And you certainly don't have to answer it if you don't want to, but—"

"What is it, Tseng," Elena replied wearily. "Please make it quick, I'm getting tired…"

"I couldn't help but notice, Elena, your abdomen…is so horribly scarred. I've never seen injuries that severe that weren't…ultimately fatal. I'm sorry, I realize it's none of my business, but…I care about you, and…" Tseng faltered.

_Tseng cares about me?_ thought Elena. _Well….that's…interesting, I guess. Nah...he must only care about the overall morale of all the Turks, _she reasoned. _That's it...nothing more. _Still, it seemed to Elena that Tseng was going above and beyond in ensuring the morale of his employees...

"That's…a painful reminder from my past," Elena replied slowly. "And pretty much the reason I've been withdrawn lately. Tseng?"

"Yes, Elena?" he answered.

"Can we…just grab a quick cup of coffee in your office?" Elena asked. "I don't think I can tell this to anyone but you…and it's eating me up inside." She cast her eyes downward as she spoke. "You're right…something has been on my mind, something I've kept bottled up inside…and honestly, you're the only one I feel I can trust with this."

Tseng raised an eyebrow at this, but nodded in silent agreement. "Let's go, Elena," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder to lead her out. Elena felt as though she would melt under his touch – her skin was still cooled from being in the water, and Tseng's touch was blisteringly hot by comparison. _Got to keep it together_, she told herself. She steadied herself, and gave Tseng a slight smile.

"That's fine, Elena," Tseng replied. "A coffee sounds good...let's head back, shall we?" Tseng and Elena marched in silence over to the elevators, pressed the button, and waited for one to arrive.

_What can it be is it that's bothering her so_, Tseng mused. _I'm glad she still feels she can confide in me…even after tonight's unfortunate incident._

Elena's thoughts were all over the place, as she rode up in silence in the elevator with Tseng. _Okay, _Elena pondered_, I bought his explanation for the tracker – and damn, I hope he makes me one, because that thing is cool – but why in hell did he feel the need to comb the building for me? I know Turks are loyal to each other, but this was going way above and beyond._

_Unless…._thought Elena_, ….unless he feels for me the way I feel for him._

_Does he?_


End file.
